So lets rate Black Shark 1-100

[Korvyk]

If I rated the sim on how much I like the game it would get an A+ rating. But to be realistic I would have to give it a rating of about 80% +/- 3 points. The BS is great, no doubt about it, but there are a lot of areas outside the chopper that need work.

[Zakk]

Okay, twist my arm; I give the sim 100 as it is the best flight sim on the market to date. How could I rate it any LOWER? If I had the ability to create anything close to this, THEN maybe I might be in a position to rate this sim lower than 100, but I can't. I don't MAKE PC games; I don't make FLIGHT SIMS; I PLAY THEM. So WHO am I to rate it any less. Show me a flight simulator that even comes close to BS. Okay, FSX is the closest sim that comes to mind. Compared to FSX, I give BS 100, and give FSX an 89 or 80 like the rest of you gave BS. IF BS IS NOT 100, THEN SHOW ME A SIM THAT IS BETTER. You can't, but the rest of you yahoo's think you are some kind of PRO flight sim evaluators. What is up with that? Give BS what it deserves RIGHT NOW which is !00 and NOTHING less. To me it's a stupid TOPIC to begin with, and that is why I didn't want to RATE it in the first place BECAUSE I thought that it was OBVIOUS to us all that this is/was the BEST we'd seen TO DATE. Let those dummy magazine reviewers rate BS--they are already HIGH on their HORSE, and think they are some kind of expert anyway--let them pick it apart with a fine tooth comb as they have nothing better to do anyway.

 

PROS: Everything

CONS: Nothing--great job.

 

I don't want to rate black shark. I don't want to criticize anything about this game. I just want to enjoy it as the BEST SIM on the market right NOW. Peace out!

[Steel Jaw]

Dusty you still around dude?

[Dusty Rhodes]

I am around. How the hell are you Mower?

[Steel Jaw]

I am around. How the hell are you Mower?

 

Good bud, cannot wait for DCS A10, Falcon is already dead to me.

 

I fly FC2 online often as Bramage. Are you around online too?

[Dusty Rhodes]

No, simming has been in the backseat for quite a while. I am waiting till DCS A-10 and Flexmans Combat Helo comes out to get back into simming.

[Steel Jaw]

Flexmans Combat Helo is something I been watching as well.

 

Is he planning to SELL it?

[Dusty Rhodes]

As far as I know he is selling it. Should be released sometime after DCS A10.

[CAT_101st]

I'd give it several grades.. giving it a single grade is not fair..nor does it fairly describe the Sim.

 

 

Simulation I'd give it a 95% (Got all the switchology, but lots of shortcuts for those less inclined to actually know how to start a real helo)

 

Cockpit I'd give it a 95% (6DOF is wild in that pit)

 

Weapons I'd go with a 90% (The performance and visual effects as well as the targeting are excellent)

 

Editor I'd go with 85% (Its very workable, but nothing earth shattering)

 

Multiplayer I'd go with 90% (I've hosted and been the client, both seem solid)

 

Subject Matter I'd go with 80%I could think of 4-5 attack aircraft I'd have preferred over the Ka-50 with its not quite a helo/not quite an airplane setup.

 

Out of the Box 95% very reliable and polished product for an initial release. For the complexity level I'm very impressed it is so "finished" a product.

 

every thing right on but the ME I would go with a 60%-70% If the FC2 ME was in BS I would do a 80% but If they do the A-10C ME in BS I will move up to a 87% still lots of room for improvments.

[leafer]

Now here's an idea...

 

Many game review sites (Gamespot, Gamespy etc etc) have an option for readers to post their reviews/opinions - so why not post there as well. All PR helps!

 

None of what you want is going to happen (or will just continue to happen at snail pace) if you don't walk the walk. Should be of no big surprise by now that they always deliver beyond your expectations. Let's do Eagle D real service and post your review where it matters to their pockets.

Edited September 7, 2010 by leafer

[thisisentchris87]

Black Shark has been a top-notch game in most areas.

 

The wingman AI has been generally useless, so much so that I generally prefer to fly without them because I end up doing everything myself or they screw something up. In a battle feild type scenario their OK (although one always dies), but missions with specific objectives they end up being clumsy and annoying.

 

Other than the AI I think the multiplayer is the only weak component and that mostly leans on the fact that it lacks a true dedicated server functionality. The few times I've looked in the lobby it had some servers, but they all had high pings. Granted I haven't actually joined a game, but what little I've seen is not impressive. It isn't proper for a server to run any graphically heavy interface.

 

Those 2 things don't detract totally from one the best sims I have every seen.

 

I would like to see a dedicated server more than a new aircraft after the A-10C installment.

[Henchman14]

Rating: 100. Because nothing else even comes close. Only realistic sim there is right now, until Warthog comes out.

[McVittees]

Having recently returned to the Black Shark after about an 18 or so month hiatus I've been flying a bit of MP and re-running the SP campaign. The only two things that really bug me are the transparant trees (which means using NOE tactics are often pointless and any SAM units hidden in or near trees have a massive advantage over the player) and the lack of a 3D editor (oh the chore of placing units!). Everything else about the game I love or don't mind!

 

Rating: 90%, not perfect, but still the best.

[brewber19]

Before I launch off in to a mini-rant, its worth noting that I've spent at least 150+ hours making skins for BS (see my sig and profile) I am not shy of investing time and effort in to EDs products...so I am not a "casual simmer". I'm too embarrassed to tell you how much time I've spent playing Flaming Cliffs, but I know I spent more than 4000 sterling on PC upgrades, flight sticks, HDTV etc primarily for flight sims.

 

On with the rant...

 

The lack of a 3d editor is probably the most painful aspect of mission making. The sheer ball-aching amount of pointless...

 

1. Save the mission

2. Load the mission

3. Review in 3d world

4. Back to editor and move unit a little bit

5. Return to (1) to iteratively review unit placement.

 

...is just so mind-numbingly a waste of my precious time = can't be bothered to create missions. Don't even get me started on the fact that each Client a/c has to be in its own flight = more pointless repetition of way point placement etc.

 

Unfortunately A10C, while a brilliant sim in fidelity of pit, physics and gfx, still has these flaws by having to guess where the hell units will end up, not to mention ME triggers that work in single player but not multiplayer. Is a beta so...I'm sure the triggers will be fixed, though a 3d editor will not of course.

 

Such as shame, as the development of the ME with triggers lends itself to some really stunning SP and MP mission scenarios...but only for those mission designers with massive amounts of patience and disposable time on their hands.

 

For BS I would rate it 9/10 for simulation of heli, 7/10 for gfx and 5/10 for mission editor. The whole non-collidable and non-occludable (is that a word?!) trees debate has been done to death re: limitation of pc h/ware yaddah yaddah...still makes it crap re: not being able to visually hide from units though...even if ballistics will go through trees. You gotta see what you're shooting at right?!

 

Roll on A10C full release (am still really enjoying the A10 beta, just not the ME) and maybe one day a revolutionised ME with 3d unit placement.

 

I feel sorry for ED - they put their lives and souls in to making these sims, and ungrateful whiners like me always want more!

[BKLronin]

89% pure entertainment compared to other genres and within genre.

[Sulman]

It's my favourite DCS product. I own Flanker 1.0/1.5, Flanker 2.0/2.5, LOMAC, FC, and FC2.

 

Why? Something about the pacing appeals to me, and the 'intimacy' of the helo's fighting environment, for want of a better word. I like the DCS world, I like seeing the maps from down there, low and slow, and crawling around like a flying artillery piece. You're very vulnerable in the KA-50, and that plodding, methodical approach is very enjoyable (for me) to play. Plus, it's just so much fun simply flying around.

 

I also think it's the perfect platform to simulate for a helicopter, because it is a one-man show, and you've got just the right amount of automated assists to help you out.

 

Criticisms? It can be a little sterile, but it is arguably the most immersive DCS title I've tried so far, because your workload is high, but the pace is relatively slow; you have to think ahead far more than you normally would, bad decisions mean you will typically get shot down, because you will be too slow to get out of trouble. The AI isn't terribly imaginative. The tree thing is annoying, but one has to just live with that, however a great many missions do not accomodate for this and the result is frustration. Plenty do not, though.

 

Between this and F4 I've pretty much got my sim needs fully covered :)

 

 

James

[muamshai]

My complains:

 

1. No tree collision. I like this feature in ArmA 2 for example.

2. No LWR (laser warning receiver) in enemy vehicles. As far as I know that modern vehicles are equipped with this addon.

3. All buttons are not clickable or functional. For example, cockpit ventilation fan switch doesn't work. Emergency jettison of AA missiles doesn't work either. Tracer switch is for decoration. Aircondition/Additional fan is for display. There are many buttons you'll find are not functional.

4. 3D model of let's say Tu-95 makes me cry.

 

 

But still it is the best sim out there, and I'll buy any product from DCS without thinking twice.